In the first, Keitt assisted fellow South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks in his 1856 attack on Republican Senator Charles Sumner.

Keitt drew a pistol from his belt and brandished his own cane, holding off the horror-struck senators who tried to assist Sumner, loudly announcing "Let them be!"

He resigned in order to create a vacancy that would be filled by special election, thus giving his constituents the opportunity to ratify or condemn his conduct.

A large brawl involving approximately 50 representatives erupted on the House floor, ending only when a missed punch from Rep. Cadwallader Washburn of Wisconsin upended the hairpiece of Rep. William Barksdale of Mississippi.

Keitt later joined the Confederate States Army, and attained the rank of colonel as commander of the 20th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

During the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 1, 1864, Keitt —in his first experience of combat in the field— was leading his infantry brigade on a horse in a charge on Philip Sheridan's dismounted cavalry near Beulah Church when he was shot in the liver or lung.

[7][8] He died the next day (though some sources say 3 or 4 June) near Richmond, Virginia, and is buried at West End Cemetery in St. Matthews, South Carolina.